


Despite the Circumstances

by LinneaStarron



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: "HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT FETT? I PISSED ON YOUR SHIP YOU bobidIOT!!", Alternate Universe, Because I'm a Homestuck, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, F/M, Hate to Love, I compare their relationship at the beginning to like, I know Boba is slightly OOC, I would call this "slow burn" but if I'm honest I don't know what speed this burn is gonna be, No I don't take constructive criticism, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Second Person, Rivals to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-07-20 12:56:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19992577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinneaStarron/pseuds/LinneaStarron
Summary: Your name is Imros Katard, and boy have you landed yourself into a sticky situation. One day your life is fine, and the next you're teamed up with your sworn mortal rival who you cannot stand to be around. What could possibly go wrong?Spoiler: a lot.~~~Imros "Paragon" Katard, Cih "Phantom" Bivod, Hunzhaph "Serenity" Fha, Taulash "Nightshade" Meian, Bondalra "Sabre" Heravl, and IG-8X "Figment" all belong to meEveryone else belongs to Lucasfilm/Disney





	1. How We Ended Up Here

It was the evening when you woke up from your brief slumber. You immediately threw your helmet back on, not needing to do the same with your armour since you fell asleep wearing it. Brushing the dust off of yourself, you walked to your dresser to grab your usual belongings: some spare cash, two blasters, some knives, just normal utilities for somebody of your profession.

You were a B-class bounty hunter named Imros Katard who went by the alias Paragon. To the average person you were quite experienced in your position, but compared to the top tier of hunters you had quite a way to go before mastering your skills. Because of this, certain bounty hunters acquire your targets faster than you can; this set you off to no extent.

You took a deep breath before walking out of your room to see an unshifted Clawdite sitting at a table. “Ah, look who’s finally up!” The Clawdite got up and walked over to give you a hug. “I never thought you’d wake up! How was your rest?”

“It was alright, Cih,” you chuckled, pulling her off of you. Cih, also known as Phantom, was your second in command, since the two of you had known each other for over ten years. Your first mission included her by your side; the two of you immediately clicked, knowing that you would make a great team.

In fact, that’s exactly what happened. The two of you eventually formed a bounty hunter squadron that was female-exclusive. Others saw it as a ridiculous move, but to be honest you preferred working with girls due to the increased level of intimacy you all could have without it becoming too suspicious to others. You knew some of the girls have had on-and-off flings, that was just typical for your squadron. Personally you’ve only had a brief one night fleeting romance with Hunzhaph, one of your squad members, but you know she’s been with the other girls as well, sparing Cih.

“Well, are you ready?” Cih beamed. “We’re having a celebration for our squadron! We’ve all been together for eight years now!”

“Sure, alright,” you replied, smiling under your helmet, “but this time you have to pay for drinks.”

“Aw, what!” she groaned. “No fair!”

“What! It’s less fair to me, I’m always the one paying for our nights out.”

“Ugh, fine,” she scowled. “Let’s just hope the girls don’t run me dry.”

The two of you walked to the local cantina. Cih tried to hold your hand but you smacked it away; even if you and the girls could be closer, it didn’t mean that you were willing to put any of them at risk. There was a reason you and Hunzhaph stopped dating, after all.

Once at the cantina, you and Cih found the others already in a booth. You could see Hunzhaph Fha, the Rodian you used to love; there was also Bondalra Heravl the Aqualish, Taulash Meian the Ubese, and IG-8X who was a droid. You walked up and immediately hugged all of them. “Boy am I glad to see you guys!” you laughed.

“Me too!” exclaimed Hunzhaph. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a night like this, Paragon. We should do this more!”

“No kidding, Serenity,” you replied, giving her a weak smile. You turned to Bondalra. “Heya, Sabre! How’s it been with you, girl?”

Sabre grunted something you couldn’t quite understand. “If I may,” IG-8X spoke up, “I believe she said that it was going alright, nothing too special outside of work.”

“Thanks, Figment!” you replied. “It’s nice to have you around for this. Glad to see you’re doing alright too!”

“Oh, thank you!” she exclaimed in surprise. You shrugged it off. “Really, it’s no problem.” You turned to Taulash. “What about you, Nightshade?”

Taulash gave you a thumbs up, causing your smile to widen. You popped up in realization. “Oh!” you blurted out. “I should get us all some drinks.” You grabbed Cih by the arm. “Come on, Phantom, you’re still paying!”

Once you had gotten everybody’s request and successfully dragged Cih to the counter, you ordered the drinks and sat down on a stool, Cih slumping into one next to you. As the two of you started chatting, you noticed a figure enter the cantina from the corner of your eye, arising a groan from you. Cih furrowed her brow bones. “What’s the matter?” she asked before looking in her peripheral as well and sighing. “Seriously? You’re going to let that asshole ruin our night?”

The asshole in question was none other than Boba Fett, the most notorious bounty hunter in the galaxy. Dear stars, did you hate the living hell out of that man. Ever since you joined the bounty hunting business, he’s always come out on top of you. Your bounties get swept from under your feet by him and his ratpack; each time frustrates you more than the last.

“No shit he’s going to ruin my night!” you barked. “Do you know how frustrating it is to be around him for more than ten seconds? His ego is that powerful.”

Cih snorted. “Yeah, it sure is a crushing pressure.”

“And don’t get me started on his fucking attitude!” You cleared your throat and put on a deep, manly voice. “ _My name is Boba Fett, and I think I’m the world’s greatest because I’m a tall green bastard._ ”

Cih put her hands over her mouth to contain her laughter. You continued. “ _I think I’m sooo fucking cool! I pretend that I’m getting mad tail all day every day, bro!_ ” You snorted as Cih kept giggling. “ _I tell everybody my dick is thiiiis big,_ ” you imitated, motioning a large size, “ _but it’s really like thiiiiis,_ ” you finished, pinching your fingers together and only leaving a small space between them. Cih’s giggling had stopped, her face dropping in a blank expression. “What? Too far?” you asked, smirking.

Cih did not verbally reply, instead looking to the side of you. A sudden awkward cough was heard from right behind you; suddenly you realized the position you were in.

“Ah,” you sighed. “He’s behind me, isn’t he?”

“You got that right,” he responded in a harsh growl. Slowly, you turned to face the Mandalorian man who was towering over you. He did not leave much space between the two of you, which made you sink in your seat. “How, uh,” you stuttered, “how much, um, did you, uh, hear?”

“Enough to know that you have some sort of fixation on my penis,” he replied in a low voice, a hint of tension underneath. He placed a hand on your shoulder, making you shiver. "Look," he muttered, making sure nobody else could hear, "I'll cut you a deal. If you and your little group leave within the next, oh, five seconds? Maybe then I'll just pretend we never had this conversation."

"And what if I don't leave?"

Boba put a hand on his blaster, causing you to raise your eyebrows in surprise; that answered your question. Before Boba even began to count, Cih jumped out of her seat and told the girls the news. As she escorted them out, you stayed still on your stool.

"One."

You didn't budge.

"Two."

You could hear his breathing grow heavier.

"Three."

Cih ran up and grabbed you by the arm. "Come _on_!" she yelled. "I'm not letting you get shot for something this petty."

"Four."

After lots of yanking, you finally threw yourself out of your chair. "Fine, Fett," you muttered, "you win this time."

Once you left the cantina, Cih stopped dead in her tracks. You turned to face her to ask what was up, but were greeted by a hand to the helmet. "Are you an idiot?!" she cried out. "You were about to let him shoot you, and for what?"

"I can't keep losing to him, Cih! You know that better than anyone."

"Better than dying to him!" she huffed. "Whatever, we have a mission tomorrow, so let's just go get some rest."

And that's exactly what you did. You went home and slept for several hours before waking up from the sun creeping into your room. Once out of bed, you grabbed Cih on your way out the door and met at Jabba's palace. Once there, you and your squadron grouped up and went up to Jabba the Hutt.

He assigned you the mission - the person was some former bounty hunter who double-crossed Jabba and joined the Rebellion. Since this person was known as a threat, Jabba told you that this would be a difficult mission, but you would be receiving quite the reward for this.

You accepted and started to head to your ship to prepare before you heard him boom at you to wait. Stopping dead in your tracks, you turned to face him. "Yes, what is it?"

"Did you really think I would be sending you off alone?" He let out a deep laugh. "You will be heading to dock 5A instead of your usual 4C. Your assistance will meet you there."

You thought to protest, but the more you pondered the more you thought; maybe the help would be useful, considering that this ex-hunter was quite notorious. Nodding, you and your squadron walked to your destination. Upon walking outside of the building, you felt a sense of dread flow through you.

Sitting on the loading dock was the Slave I; you recognized this to be Boba Fett's ship. You looked over and make eye contact with Boba, who seemed confused. You approached him hesitantly. "Please tell me this isn't dock 5A," you grumble.

"Sorry, princess," he replied, "you're not exactly my first pick either."

You scoffed.

"Whatever, let's just get this over with."


	2. Chapter 2

As you and your team prepared your supplies, you made a clear effort to interact with Boba as little as possible. Of course you’d end up being stuck on a high-stakes mission with the person you not only despise, but also were caught talking shit about. That’s just your luck, right? Sometimes you would wonder if the stars were aligned against you or something of that sort.

Well, whatever. You still had a job to do, whether he was there or not. Letting out a sharp exhale, you finished loading stuff onto the Slave I with the help of the goons Boba worked with. Your crew started to board with the rest of Boba’s squad. The interior was compact but had enough enough space for a larger table with seats all around. Both your and Boba’s crews sat around the table and started to socialize about business topics.

Since you were the leader, you figured you should instead head to the pilot’s seat, but you didn’t know where it was; so, you waited for Boba to enter the ship. After a few minutes, you could hear footsteps nearby as the door to the ship started to close. The clank of footsteps on metal make you turn around to see Boba almost all the way up a ladder. You decided to follow him up, which brought you to the pilot’s pit. Unlabelled containers were scattered around, with the control panel being in the front and center of the room. Boba was to the side of the main pilot’s chair, putting something down; upon further inspection you noticed it was a taller wooden stool. He turned to you and motioned to the cheap seat as he sat down in his own.

“Really?” you grumbled. “Of all the seats you’re sticking me with, you’re making me use a bar stool?”

“What?” he questioned, a clear mocking tone in his voice. “I thought somebody like you would be comfortable in that kind of seat.”

You could feel your body tensing up in frustration, but instead of arguing you decided it was best to just sit down in the stool and shut up.

As the ship started take-off, you soon learned that stools are quite bad during turbulence and fell flat onto the floor within seconds. You heard Boba snort in laughter, causing your mind to fill with anger. Once the ship was at a steady levelling, you placed your seat upright once more and sat back down, verbalizing with no more than a low growl.

The next five minutes were of dead silence, since neither you nor Boba seemed in the mood to socialize. You weren’t sure what he was thinking about, but you knew you were holding yourself back from going off on him. Everything about him irked you, and that was before you even had to speak to him. From the little you two spoke, you couldn’t bear his attitude. He always acted like he was the best in the room; even if it was true, you still despised that. Sometimes you wish you could just sucker-punch the absolute bastard---

“ _ Hello? _ Anyone home in there?”

You snapped back to reality and noticed Boba waving his hand in front of your face. “If you’re going to space out like that,” he commented, “then maybe this mission isn’t for you.”

“Hey!” you yelled. “I was just thinking, there’s nothing going on right now that I need to focus on.”

“That’s where you’d be wrong, miss,” he stated. “There’s still planning to do, you know. I expected better from a so-called leader.”

You could feel your lip raise in a scowl under your helmet. There was no way you were going to put up with this shit for the entire mission. “Look,” you barked, jabbing a finger into his chest, “I don’t need you policing my methods, alright? You can’t just walk up into my team’s face and just suddenly act like you run these parts.”

“Well, considering you’re working for me on my ship, I would argue that I  _ do _ run things around here.”

“Excuse me? I work  _ with _ you, not  _ for _ you.”

Boba shook his finger. “You probably should though, since you clearly can’t do anything on your own. There’s a reason I keep taking your jobs from you,” he said mockingly.

That was  _ it _ . Without another word, you stood up from your stool and left the pilot pit, sliding down to meet with the rest of the team. Once downstairs, you tapped Cih’s shoulder; the Clawdite turned around and you spoke up. “I need you to come with me,” you muttered, trying to mask your frustration. Cih nodded, standing up to follow you.

You took her to a lower level, surrounded by nothing but various ship parts. Once you had given Cih the run-down of the events that had taken place between you and Boba, she scoffed. “Are you even surprised?” she asked, crossing her arms. You sighed. “Not really. I figured he’d act like that, but not right away.”

“Did you  _ really _ think he would have waited though?”

You thought for a second before replying. “To be fair, no. Of course he’d immediately rile me up.” You leaned against a pipe. “Is this all because of last night? Is this his way of getting back or whatever?”

“Who knows.” She rolled her eyes. “I just hope this mission ends as soon as possible, for your sake.”

“Me too,” you sighed. “How about you though? Has his team been treating you alright?”

“Oh, those guys?” She shrugged. “They’re alright, not too talkative though. A total change from our usual vibe.”

You chuckled. “You mean  _ your _ talkative vibe.”

“Okay, yeah, I do mean mine,” she huffed. “I just wish work didn’t have to be so damn quiet all the time.”

You were about to reply, but you were cut off by footsteps coming down the ladder. Once the figure was visible, dread entered your mind; it was Boba. You leaned in closer to Cih, muttering, “Guess your wish was granted.”

Boba hopped off of the ladder, turning to face you and your friend. He pointed a finger at you, completely ignoring Cih. “We still have unfinished business.”

Scowling, you nodded in understanding. Boba went back up the ladder and you turned to your partner dreadfully. She waved to you. “Don’t die up there!” she called out jokingly. You chuckled just low enough to be unheard before commenting, “No promises,” as you also went up the ladder.

He led you back to the pilot’s pit and waved off one of his teammates who had briefly taken his spot. Once the crewmate was gone, he sat back down in his seat, motioning you to the stool; begrudgingly, you followed his instruction. After about thirty seconds of silence as Boba focused on flying the ship, he spoke up. “So, what does your team bring to the table?”

You turned to face him. “What?”

“I mean, what do you specialize in? What makes your team so good at its job?”

“Oh,” you replied. “Right, that would be good information.” You took a deep breath. “Starting with Phantom, she’s a Clawdite, so you could probably guess why we keep her around.”

“And that’s the one you were getting comfortable with in my ship’s lower levels?”

You jolted. “We were just… discussing mission stuff.”

“Uh- _ huh _ ,” he replied with a tone of disbelief. “So you have a changeling. What about the others?”

“The others? There’s Nightshade, she’s the Ubese. She’s our sniper, silent but deadly. Her mutism helps quite a bit, it adds to almost non-existent presence. Next there’s Sabre, the Aqualish. She’s basically the tank of our group, housing in both the strength of an angered Wookiee and the battlefield intellect necessary to be effective. Then we have Serenity, the Rodian.”

Your tone shifted to a more dreamy one when saying the name “Serenity”, but Boba didn’t seem to have reacted to it.

“She’s not openly a bounty hunter. In fact, when I first hired her I thought she has somehow mistaken herself and joined us instead of some cutesy garbage or what not. Turns out she uses her medical career as a disguise to her real passion of hunting. She’s also our first aid, on the off-chance somebody gets shot. Finally we have Figment, our assassin droid. She speaks just about any language you’ll ever need to know, plus she can override security systems for us like a good droid should.”

Boba nodded. “Not bad, not bad. What about you though?”

You paused. “... What about me?”

“You never told me what  _ you’re _ good for.”

You scoffed at the attitude in his voice. “Me? I’m one of the best in the galaxy at hand-to-hand combat. Fist fights, melee weapons, you name it. I usually take dead or alive missions in case something happens to the hostage, but this is the first one I have to make sure stays alive no matter what.”

“Alright,” he replied. “Can you shoot from a distance though?”

“I prefer not to, but I’m sure I could if I needed to.”

“And why don’t you prefer a blaster? It’s easier by a significant amount.”

You started to answer but nothing would come out, making you stumble over your own speech. Once it processed in his mind, the bounty hunter let out a low chuckle. “This can’t be real.”

“What are you talking about?”  
“Of all the shit I’d have to put up with when it came to you, _why_ did it have to be the fact that you don’t even know how to properly use a gun?”

“Hey! I never said I couldn’t use one!”

“You didn’t have to,” he replied in a snarky manner, “I got everything I needed to hear when you couldn’t even tell me why you don’t use guns.”

You opened your mouth to throw out a rebuttal, yet you couldn’t. He was right, after all. You were terrible with guns; for some reason you can barely shoot even  _ near _ your target. Throughout your whole career you’ve improved, of course, but not enough to make it worth using in battle. In your whole squadron, you were the only one not allowed to shoot anybody, which was a team decision after you almost compromised a mission due to lack of aim.

“... Fine,” you admitted, “I’m bad with guns. You caught me. Now what?”

Boba paused momentarily before smirking, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. “Don’t worry, miss,” he responded, “you’ll see soon enough.”

~~~

After what seemed like forever, the ship landed on Tatooine right by Mos Espa. Boba followed you outside of the ship, meeting up with the others in your collective team. You walked up to Cih and asked her to go find the usual when it came to your equipment. After discussing with the other girls, she began to walk off but was stopped by Boba. You watched as he listed off various supplies and equipment different to what you listed before slapping a bag in her hands which you assumed was filled with credits. Cih looked back nervously at you before running off to the market area. You approached Boba frustratedly. “What are you up to  _ now _ ?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied with a scoff.

“I  _ am _ worried! You’re bossing my girls around!”

“Look, I just sent your little buddy off to get some other supplies. I have something else I need from you.”

“Oh yeah? What is it then?”

“Just follow me, it’s important.”

Whatever, this wasn’t worth arguing. His tone seemed genuine enough, plus if you were honest you were intrigued by whatever this mystery mission was. He started to walk away from the market; you trotted along right behind him.

After a short while, the two of you arrived at a smaller shooting range. Boba took out his blaster and handed it to you. “Alright,” he said, motioning to the practice dummy, “show me your skills.”

“What?”

“You told me you were bad, I just want to see for myself just how deep that runs.”

Sighing deeply, you grabbed the blaster from his hands and aimed at the target. You took about twenty shots, landing only five of them even anywhere on the dummy. You could hear Boba scoff at you. “Really?” he asked in exasperation. “The target wasn’t even moving!” He put a hand on his mask, pinching near the middle of it. “Get in position to shoot, I’ll let you know when to fire.”

You nodded and turned to the dummy again, positioning his blaster. Before you could even say you were ready, Boba gasped in realization. Without another word, he walked up to you. “No wonder you’re missing so many shots.”

“What? What is it?” you questioned.

“It’s your stance.”  
“My… stance?”

“Yeah, you’re holding the gun all wrong!” He shook your right arm. “You’re holding it at a weird angle. Here, let me show you the correct way.”

Boba walked behind you, wrapping his arms around you to reposition yours. Although the metallic clanking of your armour colliding with his was quite obnoxious and grounding, you could feel your mind pulling out of reality briefly. Even if he was just trying to help you with your gunmanship, something about him being this close made you feel so…

Nothing! You’re feeling absolutely nothing at all! You tried your best to ignore your racing pulse, hoping he wouldn't notice as well. Thankfully he didn’t say anything, as he instead pushed your hand into place and backed off. “There. Now try to shoot.”

You did exactly that. You made eighteen of twenty shots that time, a great improvement from your last blunder. Excitement flowed through your system as you turned to face Boba. “Did I just…?”

He nodded. “Geez, maybe if you shoot like that you could have actually been at my level in the field.” He let out a playful chuckle, causing your face to heat up. “It’s, uh, never too late to catch up, you know!” you shot back, somewhat tripping over your comeback. You’re pretty sure he noticed, since he had a bit of an awkward cough before saying, “I’d like to see you try.”

After a few seconds of silence, you turned back to the target range. “Is there, um, a way to get this to move around?” you asked.

“Fortunately yes, even if the range is a bit older.” He walked over to a small control panel and flipped a switch. You aimed the way Boba taught you and tried your best to hit the moving target. Over the next few minutes you showed mild improvement, feeling a wave of pride rush through you as a result. After your brief training session with Boba, you thanked him. He waved it off as purely business so you tried to do the same, but something inside of you wished it was more than that… why?

Whatever. You and Boba met up with your collective teams and boarded the ship after loading everything inside. As the ship took off, your mind was racing. The events at the target range, albeit minor, were enough to make your heart race. You know it was for business. You know he meant nothing from it, right? So then why did you feel all weird and fluttery around Boba? Were you finally realizing you didn’t hate him, and in fact you probably liked him, or worse…

You decided it was best to head downstairs and talk to Cih right away.


	3. Chapter 3

After gaining the courage to excuse yourself from Boba’s presence, you went down the ladder, politely asked Cih to join you for a brief moment, then took her down to the lower levels again. “What now?” she asked.

You told her the events from earlier in Mos Espa. After recollecting everything, she snorted in laughter. “Wait, wait, hold on. You’re telling me he did this without you even asking for any sort of help? As in, this was all his idea?”

“All his!” you exclaimed. Cih wiped the tears from her eyes. “What, does he secretly have a soft spot for you?” she teased.

“Dude, shut _up_!” you scoffed, punching her arm lightly. “There’s absolutely no way he would ever like somebody like me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” she replied, “if he didn’t like you he would have made you sit on the bench for this mission, with your lack of aim and all.”

“Well maybe he just wanted all hands on deck, right?”

“He hasn’t done special training for anyone else on this trip.”

“Dude! I called you down here so I could shut down the idea that he’s being extra nice to me, not to reinforce it!”

Cih snorted in laughter. “I’m just spitting the facts, honey.”

“Ugh, whatever!” you shouted, immediately throwing a hand over the mouth of your helmet once you realized how loud you were. Lowering your voice, you continued. “Listen, let’s just hope this mission finishes real soon.”

“Agreed,” she huffed. “Even if it means I can’t make fun of you and your new boy toy.” She stuck her tongue out playfully at that last comment, receiving a groan from you. “Why do I even put up with you?”

“Oh hush, you know you couldn’t resist me.”

You put a hand on your hip. “I know I couldn’t, even if you’re a total pest.” As Cih gave you a playful scowl, you took a quick glance over at the ladder. “Anyway, we should go back before people start getting suspicious.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Cih obliged as she rushed up the ladder, you trailing behind. As Cih ran off to her usual spot to socialize, you reluctantly rejoined Boba. Peeking your head inside, you noticed that your old stool was replaced with a low-quality chair that had a somewhat sturdy back on it. Approaching it, you took notice of the fact that it had been crudely fastened onto the ground.

You sat down, turning to look at Boba. Hesitating, you muttered a quick “thank you” before looking back at the stars through the windshield. About a minute passed before you spoke again, trying to break the awkward tension. “Any reason you’re being so nice?” you asked, forcing a laugh.

He flipped a switch on the dashboard before turning to look at you. He shrugged, replying, “I figured you learned your lesson after that epic fall earlier.”

“Right,” you murmured, “thanks.”

To be frank, the fall was the least of your issues at this point. Just being around Boba was enough to put you on edge, but this time it wasn’t because he was pissing you off. Him actually being nice? That felt incredibly out of character in comparison to how you two started off.

Whatever, you shouldn’t be complaining about someone leaving you be. It’s probably for the best if he stops being a dick to you for the time being.

The next few minutes were silent, leaving you to your thoughts of how to even face Boba with your recently established nervousness. What could you even talk to him about without making it obvious you’re freaking out?

“Hey,” he started, “it’s nice having someone like me on a mission for once.”

Looks like he beat you to the punch, per usual. “Someone like you?”

“You know, a Mandalorian.”

Duh. What else would he have been referring to? “Yeah, I get it,” you replied. “It’s been weird seeing close to none in the field.”

“Yeah, it’s not that common for our people anymore.”

“Right, yeah,” you muttered. “Guess it’s cool that we have each other then, yeah?”

You couldn’t see Boba’s face, but you could only imagine he was giving you a weird look. “That’s one way to put it, yeah,” he responded, the pace of his voice slowed just a tick.

“Totally,” you replied absent-mindedly. You were pulled out of the moment due to sheer confusion. You couldn’t believe he was actually trying to get along with you. First Mos Espa, now this? You thought there just had to be something else going on behind the scenes. Was he trying to mess with you? Was this just a ploy to throw you off your game so he could take more of the pay?

Before either of you could say anything else, the two of you could hear somebody climbing up to where you were. You turned to see Cih poking her head into the room. “Hey boss,” she asked, “when are you and Fett coming down? We need to discuss the game plan.”

“Whenever you’re ready,” you stated, looking over at Boba. He nodded, quickly standing up to head downstairs. You followed the two of them downstairs to the main area. The seating was one large, circular couch with an opening to enter. The middle had a round table inside which had a hologram projector in the middle, surrounded by various weapons and utilities.

Everybody who was sitting before stood up and approached you and Boba. You were going to ask what was happening, but Cih answered that before you even asked. “So, boss,” she explained, “I realized maybe we should do a more formal introduction of everyone. You know, since you and the green guy are gonna be planning everything.”

Boba scoffed, but you ignored him. “Sounds like a plan to me,” you said, approaching the men in the group. One by one you approached each of them, shaking their hands.

First was IG-88. You couldn’t tell if his unfeeling aura was because he was just a droid or because he was genuinely intimidating. “IG-88, bounty hunter,” was all the droid could muster. You joked that him and IG-8X were from the same series so maybe they were related; he did not laugh, which made you feel awkward.

Next was 4-LOM. After shaking his hand, he explained away about how he’s able to calculate and anticipate anything related to the mission. “In fact,” he stated, “the odds of us succeeding this mission without anybody dying or getting severely injured are 1 to 73.” Those weren’t good odds, but you weren’t too worried about it either.

After that was Zuckuss. The two of you shook hands but didn’t really say much besides the usual introduction. You were still processing his look. He and 4-LOM seemed related somehow, but you didn’t want another comment running dry. You decided to just move on.

Then there was Dengar. After shaking hands and exchanging information, he laughed and tried to flirt with you in a playful manner; that action was cut off when the Trandoshan next to him jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow, causing Dengar to apologize to you.

That Trandoshan in question was Bossk. “Don’t mind him,” Bossk apologized, “he can be quite _ssstupid_ when he’s around women.”

Dengar went to debate, but Bossk shot him a menacing glare. You chuckled. “Thank you for that,” you said, smiling behind your helmet.

After all that, you turned to Boba, who had waited to meet your girls until after everything was good with you and his team. “Your fellas seem alright,” you commented.

“Just keep sharp, sweetheart,” he replied in a snarky manner. “They’re only being nice to you because of work etiquette.”

“Noted, thanks for the heads up.”

It was Boba’s turn to meet your team.

First he approached Bondalra. Bondalra just grunted at him, staring him down with her large eyes. IG-8X leaned in and chimed, “That’s Sabre! Pardon her accent, she’s not great with speaking as you do. She’ll understand you just fine though.”

Boba nodded his head. IG-8X mentioned her code name, Figment, and her role in the group; Boba took her hand and shook it before moving on to Taulash.

He shook her hand and said his name, but Taulash did not reply. You leaned over his shoulder. “She can’t talk, but that’s Nightshade.”

“How do you even communicate with her?” he asked.

“You’re smart,” you snarked, “you can figure that out on your own.”

If you could have seen his face, he probably was rolling his eyes at your reply.

“Whatever. Who’s next?”

“I suppose that’s me!” Hunzhaph called out, her voice trailing like a melody. “I’m Serenity, and it’s so nice to meet you formally! I’m _sooo_ sorry we got off on such a bad foot, but hopefully we can work together just fine!” she exclaimed before leaning in closer. “You’d better pray that’s the case, because we wouldn’t want you suddenly getting hurt on the job,” she grumbled menacingly before shooting away from him, an eerie smile cracked onto her face.

Boba stood there blankly before he replied. “Did you just threaten me?” he accused.

“What are you talking about, Bob- _idiot_?” you lied through your teeth. “She literally did the opposite of threaten you. Come on, I thought you were better than that.”

You could hear him grumble insults under his breath before moving over to the final girl, Cih. She shook his hand with intense energy before introducing herself as Phantom. “I’ve heard great things about you!” she exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

“Yeah, I’m _sure_ you did,” he grumbled. He turned to you. “Is that all of them?”

“Nope. You’re forgetting the best one.”

“Gee, the _best_ , huh?” he asked with fake enthusiasm before muttering something under his breath that you assumed was more insults. You nodded. “Duh, _me_!” you teased, sticking your hand out.

“Right,” he hesitated before reaching to shake your hand; the two of you exchanged names once again. “Is this necessary? I already know you.”

“Hey, it’s just workplace hospitality,” you quipped. “Let’s just get this mission over with, yeah?”

“Sure,” he sneered. “Try not to fall behind though, okay? I know you’re good at that, but I prefer my coworkers _skilled_ , if you haven’t noticed.”

“Really?” you asked sarcastically. “You never did seem like the type who cared about skill, to be honest.”

You could hear him force a laugh before leaning in closer. “If you know what’s best for the mission, you’ll ease up.”

You snorted. “What, and let you have the last laugh? In your dreams, Fett.”

He let out a soft chuckle. “Alright, we’ll see where that gets you,” he cooed mockingly, briefly pulling you in with his hand under your chin playfully before spinning around and walking over to the couches. “Come on, we have work to do,” he called out. Turning to your girls, you saw they were all glaring at Boba, hands on their blasters. Looks like they weren’t too happy that he put his hands on you, even for a split second. They were clearly bothered, but for some reason you weren’t entirely livid over it, but you didn’t know why…

You shook off the weird feeling in your head before walking over to the couch. Once there, you tried sitting next to Boba but with a clear distance between the two of you, but the couch was unfortunately not big enough for twelve members to be seated with that much wiggle room; this meant you were stuck with your body uncomfortably close to his. Granted, everybody was like a pack of sardines on the couch, but it definitely was more awkward to be in Boba’s bubble than in Cih’s, who was on your other side.

Boba pulled up the hologram on the table; it was a map of a city on Alvorine, a planet on the Outer Rim. “Intel says our target is here in Alvorine City. We’re after a male Kyuzo who goes by the name Dhavek.” An image of a male Kyuzo appeared on the screen, causing a few of Boba’s teammates to grumble amongst themselves.

“Some of you may remember him from past missions as a former ally,” Boba continued. “Unfortunately, _some_ of those in the field sell out their clients for extra pocket cash.”

A chorus of chatter erupted before Boba held up his hand to silence everyone. “As much as I would love to teach this man a lesson, Jabba did say that even though it’s dead-or-alive he’d pay us more for alive. Considering we have… _more_ help than usual,” he stated, gesturing to you and the girls, “the extra pay would be worth it. Any questions before we get into the game plan?”

The room was silent. You leaned over to Boba. You leaned over and told him, “I can take it from here.”

He laughed quietly before turning away from you and switching to a map of Alvorine City, completely ignoring your request.

Boba pointed to the marketplace on the map and explained that in one of these booths there was allegedly an entrance to a system of tunnels that could lead the team to Dhavek. The only issue was that they didn’t know which booth led to it; there was a sector given though, which narrowed it down to about nine shops.

The group was going to be splitting up into different sectors, some roaming the marketplace to find and enter the hideout and others staying on lookout in case anything were to go wrong. The ones on lookout would be Taulash, Dengar (much to his dismay), and Hunzhaph. The rest were divided into three groups: group one was Bondalra, IG-8X, and Cih, group two was Bossk, 4-LOM, and Zuckuss, and group three was Boba, IG-88, and Imros.

"You and me? _Together?_ " you interrupted. "What kind of match-up is that?"

"Yeah!" Dengar agreed. "Make her switch with me! I'm not sitting around doing nothing, I wanna jump in on that sweet action! I wanna give that Dhavek scum a piece of my mind."

"Both of you, shut it," Boba groaned. "I know what I'm doing, alright?"

Grumbling, Dengar slouched back onto the couch, you doing the same.

Back to the plan. The three ground groups would split up in the marketplace and snoop around until one group located the entrance, then the three groups would collect into there.

From there they would navigate the tunnels until finding Dhavek and most likely a few other Rebellion goons. The rebels could be taken out by any means necessary, but Dhavek was not to be harmed in the slightest.

Once cuffed, he would be taken to the ship, the ones above ground keeping watch for anyone who could potentially jeopardize the mission. After that, it's the final home stretch of getting the ship back to Jabba's in one piece.

"Any questions?"

You went to speak but were cut off by Boba. "Any questions _not_ about the team arrangements?"

You slumped back down. Looking around, everyone seemed content besides the grumpy Dengar, but he didn't say anything. Boba closed the hologram. "Good," he stated. "We'll enact that plan as soon as we land."

He stood up and squeezed past the guys to head back to his normal seat. Reaching the ladder, he turned to you and motioned you to follow him. You got up and moved past the girls; Cih quietly whistled at you, making you heat up in embarrassment as you made your way back upstairs.

You sat down in the chair next to Boba, shaking off the flutters in your stomach. The usual brief silence set in before you finally asked the question you’ve been thinking about since the meeting.

“Sooo, are you gonna tell me the reason you stuck the two of us together?”

Boba turned his head toward you. “Why does that matter?”

“I thought you’d have stuck me on lookout duty.”

He scoffed. “Nah, I tried to base the groups on what made the most sense to me.” He leaned back farther into his seat and decided to elaborate his thought process.

“Each group besides lookout needed a droid, so that made things easier. I figured that your chicks Sabre and Figment would need to stick together, and 4-LOM almost always sticks with Zuckuss. That meant IG-88 would be in the third group alongside me.”

“There’s still me, Phantom, Serenity, Nightshade, and your boys Bossk and Dengar.”

“Right. You told me Nightshade was good on sniping duty, so of course that was an easy lock for lookout duty. Same with that girl Serenity, since we should keep the main medic out of harm’s way. The last was a toss-up but I figured I should sideline Dengar.”

“Wait, why? He seems passionate about the mission.”

“Yeah, _too_ passionate,” Boba huffed. “If anyone would accidentally kill Dhavek, it’d be Dengar. They had some pretty bad beef when Dhavek double-crossed Jabba. They were on the same mission, you know.”

You winced. “Yikes, I see what you mean.”

Boba nodded. “So that left you, Bossk, and Phantom. I figured Bossk would rather work with his own men, so I stuck him with Zuckuss and 4-LOM. That’s also why I stuck your ladies all together.”

“Why Bossk with those guys and not you and the droid?”

“Would you rather have worked with me or two bounty hunters you don’t know?”

You thought for a second. “Yeah, I see your point.”

“Glad you’re using that brain of yours,” he teased. “Plus, we look like we belong together anyway.”

A tingling sensation flowed through your body. “What?”

“What?” he asked. “We look similar.”

You blinked rapidly, processing what he meant, before shaking off the flustered feeling. “Right, yeah, that’s what you meant.”

“What did you _think_ I meant?” he scoffed. You could feel yourself internally panic. “I, um, I just, uh---” you stumbled before Boba cut you off with a chuckle. “I know what you thought, don’t worry.” You could feel your face heat up. He continued with, “It helps with the immersion, anyway. We’re both Mandalorians, it just makes sense that we’d be allies.”

You cleared your throat. “Yeah, okay, that actually makes sense.” He didn’t reply so you added on, “From an outside context, I mean. If they saw us like we were now, they’d know it’s the opposite.”

Your remark rose a snort from Boba. “For sure, especially if they heard the shit coming from your mouth.”

“Hey!” you giggled. “You should hear some of the stuff you say, you’re not much better!”

“Oh, shut it, you totally deserved it though.”

“What! No fair!” you shouted, playfully shoving his arm, causing him to burst out in laughter. You looked at him as he laughed and could feel a warmth in your cheeks… but why? Wasn’t this the guy you hated twenty-four hours ago? You thought you despised everything about him, yet here you were making each other laugh your asses off and you enjoyed every bit of it. In fact, that weird feeling you had earlier today was even stronger than ever. You wanted to rub the emotions off, but as you watched him chuckle you couldn’t deny it any longer:

You were hopelessly in love with your sworn rival.

Boba seemed to have taken notice in your sudden silence, but before he said a word he was cut off by his ship’s monitor altering him that the ship was approaching Alvorine. “Well, looks like we’re just about here,” he stated. He landed the ship, the two of you in complete silence. Once the motion had stopped, you jumped out of your seat and headed toward the exit of the area but were stopped by Boba grabbing your hand. You turned to face him. “Hey, you going to be alright during the mission?” he asked, a subtle tone of concern in his voice.

“Wh-What?” you stammered. “Um, yeah, I should, uh, be fine. Just motion sickness from turbulence.” You forced a laugh out. Boba stared at you with what you could only have assumed was a suspicious gaze before nodding. “Just remember,” he reminded you jokingly as his thumb lightly rubbed against your hand, “you only have to put up with my shit for only a few hours, you hear?”

You snorted awkwardly. “Yeah, whatever _bub_ ,” you sneered. “Don’t go all soft on me, punk. You wouldn’t want me surpassing you, right?”

“I doubt that you will, but whatever helps you sleep at night.”

He let go of your hand, lightly shoving you out of the way to go down the ladder first. “Hey, wait!” you called out. “I was going to go down first!”

“You snooze you lose, Paragon,” he replied. You scoffed before sliding down the ladder after him. Grouping up with the others, the two of you prepared for the intense mission ahead of you.

Hopefully this would go smoother than everything else has so far.

**Author's Note:**

> i write what 6 year old me would have died for


End file.
